Memories
by murasaki888
Summary: Kudo Hotaru, younger sister of Kudo Shinichi by 11 years, is cute, smart, petite, and...blind. These are a collection of one-shots or two-shots or even three-shots of the two siblings bonding in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

Detective conan- Shinichi/Conan and Hotaru one-shot(s) or two-shots  
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective conan. It is owned by Gosho Aoyama. The only character I own is Hotaru, my OC.

-this is before the whole 'shrunken detective business' Shinichi is currently 12 years old. Hotaru is a few months old now. Hotaru is Shinichi's younger sister. This is a two shot. I may do a collection of them here before I start on my story. For a little backround information about Hotaru and such I will create a profile of her (which will contain spoilers). Read that at your own caution. However for this, enjoy yourself. I will make sure that there are not a lot of spoilers. I want to point this out though, Hotaru is blind child.-

Babysitting love part 1

"What!? Okaa-San... Why do you want ME to take care of her?! You too, Otou-San. Why did you agree?"

"Because Shin-chan, your father and I will be away for a reunion party. And I thought you said that you 'didn't want to bother yourself with them'." Kudo Yukiko reenacted a typical bored Shinichi face while she said the last part. Yusaku merely chuckled at this. Looking down at his son, who was mostly shocked and annoyed by the news, he smiled.

"Yes, Shinichi that is exactly it. You too should have time together, after all Hotaru should know what kind of brother her lovely Onii-San is. Am I right?" Shinichi winced at the word.

Onii-San. What kind of Onii-San was he really? He was pretty sure no 'Onii-San' he heard has ever...Hotaru. Onii-San. It hurts to hear that word. He didn't deserve that title. If Hotaru knew, she would never forgive him. His parents had though that was a long time ago. But she, she wouldn't. Not that he expected her to anyways. He was brought back to reality at the sound of his pleading mother's voice.

"Please Shin-chan, it'll only be a few days! Oka-San-"

"And Me." Interrupted his father.

"-And Otou-San promise to help you if you trouble." His mother playfully begged as she clapped her hands together. Shinichi himself looked beyond flustered. There was a pregnant pause until he spoke. Turning his head to the side stubbornly in order to hide his darkening blush he coughed and replied

"It's just a few days...right?"

His mother cheered happily, vigorously nodding her head as she dragged her poor unfortunate husband to gather their luggage. Furniture flew, and there were loud footsteps along with the rolling of the suitcase. Before leaving, they repeated the instructions on what he had to do, quickly his mother kissed his cheek ( to which he wiped off, slightly disgusted) and in a matter of moments, he was alone in the large mansion, with baby Hotaru.

'Oi Oi,' he thought. ' it all seemed like it was planned, doesn't it?'


	2. Chapter 2

Babysitting love part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan nor do I own the characters of Detective Conan. I only own Hotaru, My OC.

fair warning- Shinichi will be OOC

Shinichi sighed and collapsed on the (thankfully) nearby leather chair. Turning his head he stared at the baby pink crib where his little sister lied in. Through the bars of the crib, he could see her sightless eyes closed as she started to doze off. He pulled the chair closer to the crib and watched her stir at the noise but perhaps disregarded it and continued to sleep.

Glancing up, his eyes decided to take in the innocence of the baby room. Little Easter bunny wallpapers decorated the interior of the room. There was a soft-almost velvety carpet at his feet, just in case if Hotaru would fall. Sunny yellow drawers kept all of the baby's clothes within close reach and of course toys were scattered all across the room. Usagi-chan was in the high shelf where it was only taken down under adult supervision. Hotaru's favorite stuffed animal was a big gray bunny where her adoring father bought for her. She fell in love as soon as her hand brushed up against the bunny's soft fur and snuggled with it.

However, because Usagi-chan ( the bunny's name) was so much larger in compared to Hotaru's frail humble body, Oka-San and Otou-San take it away to the nearby shelf, fearing that little Hotaru would suffocate herself under the arms of Usagi-chan.

Ofcourse Hotaru was furious to find out that Usagi-chan would be stored away from her and cried for days at an end. A thoroughly worried Kudo Yusaku and Kudo Yukiko ran to their only son for advice, who agreed mostly because of his want for sleep which unfortunately did not have for the past days.

Kudo Shinichi solved the problem by lending his younger a hand. Literally.

Apparently Hotaru seemed to find Shinichi's fingers a better pacifier than the one Oka-San gave to her. She loved to suck on them, drooling all over his hand as her teeth less gums chewed on his index finger.

That day Shinichi held a hint of a smile as he peered down at the quaint sight of his sister in his arms sucking on his fingers and affectionately patted her cheek.

Back to reality he made a mental note on his schedule for the day. Now it was 2:00 His parents had already left him two hours ago. At about 3:00 he must feed her with cut string beans, peas, baby carrots that were cut into cubes, and for dessert : mashed peaches. During then, he will see if she is thirsty after eating. If that is so then he will feed her formula which his mother had already prepared for him.

After that she will be sleeping in her crib and he will go with the flow for the rest of the day.

He sat facing to the crib and peered down. His sister, who was already showing signs of inheriting his mother's curly hair, had already proven to have pure black like his father and himself, pale fair complexion, small nose, small mouth, small face, small hands, small feet, small body, but big eyes. Big eyes who will see nothing for a very long time. Not forever though, but long enough. And it was all his fault.

Looking up at the clock he saw that it was now 2:30. Sighing loudly, he grunted while getting up to prepare the food for his Hotaru.

A small whimper was made and it was loud enough to make him turn his head back to see that his sister had woken up because of the noise he made. She tossed and turned grouchily.

Recognizing his fatal mistake, he went back to the crib apologizing

"Ah! *Imouto gomen gomen! Uh...Onii-San is just going to get your snack for you to eat later, go back to sleep okay?"

It was not enough for Hotaru, who despised interruptions while trying to sleep. She pouted and then began to cry.

"Hotaru I'm sorry! What is it that you want from me?" Pleaded her brother.

He tried to search for injurys, a sign that she was hungry, that she needed a diaper change, anything at all but he was unsuccessful.

He took Usagi-chan off of the shelf and placed it next to her. She merely knocked it away and cried louder.

Finally he had an idea. Picking her pitifully tear-filled body up, he rocked her gently in his arms. Balancing her in one arm while making sure that her head was in place, he placed his free hand on her stomache, massaging it soothingly. He had seem his mother do the same actions every time Hotaru was upset. Now Hotaru's cries had subsided and was reduced to heavy sniffling and hiccups.

He whispered in her ear, "Shhh... There there, relax would you? There's not much for you to be angry about, you know? Onii-San is making you food, and he's sorry for waking you up. But you know...He's always going to take your side for everything okay? So stop crying and go to sleep, Alright?"

Hotaru had felt tired of crying and felt even more sleepy hearing Shinichi's whispering voice in her ear. It was like a lullaby to her and she was so cozy in his arms...

Once he made sure that she was out cold he pulled away from her a bit and took a long look at her.

'Jeez, I never knew she would even take after Ka-san's temper... But... To be honest, she's hard to get mad at. ' He smirked as his finger tickled her neck, and Hotaru tried to wack it away, missing several times. He playfully tweaked her nose and then leaned down to give her a chaste kiss on the forehead. After placing her back in the crib, he tiptoed quietly in the kitchen.

Feeding Hotaru was very very hard. As soon as her sensitive nose caught what she was to be served, she stubbornly refused to eat. And Shinichi was losing it very fast.

"Imouto, you have to eat it! Please!"

"No!", was what she replied.

"It is not a choice, you have to eat it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

She obstinately pushed the plate down on the floor, and thus baby food produced a loud splat!

He angrily glared at her, forgetting that she was blind, and groaned.

"Bakayaro! Now you made a mess!"

He sat heavily on the chair, with his head in his hands. He wished Ran had not agreed to accompany Sonoko shopping today, for he needed help, now.

Some clattering was heard and when Shinichi looked up, he saw Hotaru bending over, trying to reach down at the floor from her baby seat.

He smiled tiredly and gently pushed her back up.

"It's okay, I'll clean it up."

Her lower lip trembled slightly, and small tears were falling on her cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, what are you mad about now?" He looked concerned at her.

There was no reply as her tears silently dripped from her eyes. And he instantly felt guilty for castigating her earlier.

'What is wrong with me? I should have been angry! It is not my fault she doesn't listen!'

But another voice had told him

'You made her cry.'

"Imouto...Onii-San's not mad anymore. Really."

"No." She manage to choke out.

"Oi, I'm sorry for calling you that earlier. If Imouto doesn't like it, Onii-San will give her something else okay?"

She shook her head, as if she couldn't understand what he was saying. Hotaru bended over again.

Quickly he pushed her back up. He put his hands on her small shoulders.

"Oi, I thought that I told you that it was alright."

And the dam burst. Then, as if by instinct, he hugged her. She started to wail in his arms.

"Hotaru..." He bended over and hesitantly brushed her tears away.

" Imouto..I'm not a good Onii-San am I..?"

She continued to cry and cry. And again it was his fault.

'Imouto. I love you. So much.' He so badly wanted her to know that. While was going to pull away in order to clean up the mess he felt her hands fist on his shirt sniffling, andnot letting go.

'She can't love me. Not after what happened. But...'

He again squatted down and held her face with two hands, kissing her forehead, cheek, and nose. He smiled sadly at Hotaru who merely looked surprised at contact.

'I'll just indulge myself selfishly until the day she finds out."

*Imouto-little sister

Gomen Gomen- Sorry Sorry! A common saying in Japan. Not very formal though.


	3. Chapter 3

Hotaru's first case part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan nor do I own the characters of Detective Conan. The only thing I own is Hotaru, my OC.

-This is two years before the Edogawa Conan incident. Shinichi is fifteen years old. Hotaru is four years old. This is during their summer vacation where Shinichi decides to spend a part of it for a case. Fair warning: Shinichi will be OOC-

"Ne, Onii-San who is this Yamaguchi Tora?" Hotaru asked tugging her brother's sleeve.

"He is the CEO of the Yamaguchi company involving finances. " Shinichi answered stiffly down at the curious little girl.

"Is that why his name means Tiger?"

"Close enough. It's said that he is 'fierce' with his employees. We'll see for sure when we meet him." He held a slight smirk at Hotaru who, covering her mouth, giggled at the thought of a man wearing a suit with the head of a tiger.

'That is a sight I'd like to see.'

She hummed a bit to herself for she was in an excellent mood. Today her brother was allowing her to accompany him on a case, for the first time. It was difficult to persuade him. Strike that, it was literally impossible. And he was still a bit iffy about the whole situation. But Hotaru still smiled at the scene this morning.

Flashback

_"What do you MEAN you're busy?!"_

_"Ah..Sumanai Shinichi, I'm at Hokkaido right now, and I won't be back until another week."_

_"Why Hokkaido?! As I recall the temperature is nearly 12 degrees Celsius! The hell are you doing in a place like that?!" Shinichi was nearly screaming into the phone._

_" I had a recommendation to try out my new invention, the happy alarm clock! You see it records the sound of anyone's voice, and with the click of this button..."_

_Kudo Shinichi took deep breathes before calling the professor again. He cautiously said,_

_"So.. That means that you are unavailable..."_

_"Regretfully yes, Shinichi why don't you call Ran? I'm sure she is probably at home with her father..."_

_"Ran and her father are at her mother's place. Ran is taking them to a rented summerhouse and they are staying there throughout all of Summer vacation." Ran's techniques in getting her old man back with his wife would be impossible unless he has the heart to ignore passerby college students, which would be just...no._

_"What about Sonoko-kun?"_

_"Like I would trust that evil girl to do anything..." Shinichi grumbled under his breathe._

_"Uh...hmmm," they pondered about what to do with little Hotaru while Onii-San was away._

_"Shinichi, I think that perhaps you can take her with you...?"_

_"Absolutely not. It is too dangerous."_

_"You are just privately investigating a CEO's wife. As long as she stays with you, I don't see how it could be dangerous. And it would be an experience for her nonetheless it can be good or bad."_

_"..." He looked at the frail little girl who was innocently trying to read her books in Braille. Her small fingers glided over the raised dots as she bit her thumb, deep in thought._

_She might get hurt. However if she stays with him like the professor said..._

_" I'll think about it."_

_"That's good. If you are in an emergency though, I'll be on the first flight back."_

_Shinichi nodded and mumbled his thanks before shutting off the phone. He walked briskly towards Hotaru and crouched down to meet her eye level and pondered on where to start._

_"Onii-San, does that mean I'm coming with you?" She twirled one curly strand of hair._

_"...yes Imouto. Yes you are."_

_Her smile was enough to lift his spirits, just enough for him to smile back, not caring whether she sees it or not._

End flashback

In just forty minutes, they would FINALLY be out of the sweltering cab and visit the city of Shinjuku where Onii-San's client would be waiting at the 'Summer Breeze Hotel'

and Hotaru was getting irritated. She tugged on her brother's sleeve harder and harder until he soothingly ran his fingers through her hair.

"It's hot in here Onii-San."

"Shhh.. I know I know, we'll be there soon."

"How soon Onii-San?"

"Soon enough now shhh it'll get hotter if we keep on talking so loud." To be truthful he was just as annoyed as she. The ridiculously slow driver was painfully trudging along the highway and there was no AC. To make matters worse, the window was tightly shut closed.

"Ne ne Onii-San? Will you please tell me about the Greeks?", Hotaru whispered.

"Ofcourse Imouto, anyone you want to hear in particular?" Shinichi was glad to have something to distract him from the heat. And his worry.

"Tell me more about Pythagoras, the mathematician you were telling me the other day."

"Pythagoras did not focus his work solely on math, you know. He also did much on philosophy."

"Philosophy?"

"It's the study of the fundamental problems of this world, like our existence, our reasoning, knowledge, values, and especially in the mind."

"Like why do humans exist?"

"That is one of the topics philosophers study about." He said absentmindingly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear."

"How did Pythagoras discover the Pythagorean Theorem?"

"Pythagoras did not discover the Pythagorean Theorem.", he corrected. "The Pythagorean Theorem was discovered years before him by an ancient Indian mathematician. It was also said to be used in Ancient Egypt which may be the format used to construct their pyramids."

"What I meant is, how did he popularize it in Greece?" She asked again leaning against his arm.

"He was able to prove it true in Greece. Pythagoras also had a lot of influence, especially with his followers."

"Oh, I see now." She yawned slightly and snuggled against his arm.

"Oi oi, we're getting off soon you know." He annoying shook her awake.

"Umf..five more minutes..." She mumbled resting on his lap. He decided to give up trying to wake up his sleepy sister. Shinichi rubbed her stomache comfortingly as she slept, like so many times before.

When they reached to the spot where he saw the 'Summer Breeze Hotel' sign he again nudged her awake. Hotaru blearily opening her pale blue eyes and asked groggily

"We're here already?"

"Yeah, you would know if only you didn't fall asleep on me.", He said teasing Hotaru by ruffling her hair. "Now get off of me, I need to reach for my wallet."

She gave a sadistic smile and did not budge. Instead she fell back on his lap and rested there like a rock.

"Oi! Get off Imouto!"

"No!" She wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Oi oi, not this again..." He half-groaned in amusement.

"No!"

"Yes, for me."

"No-hey what are you..!" He picked her up, kicked open the door and plopped her outside on the sidewalk. Then, closing the door, he embarassingly took out his wallet and paid the cab driver ( who raised his eyebrows at the whole scene), took out his and Hotaru's luggage, and walked outside where Hotaru was pouting annoyed that he had to carry her like a baby.

"You didn't have to go that far..."

"Neither did you." He replied back indifferently. Deciding to cheer her mood a bit, he kissed her cheek and said, "At least we're here. Which reminds me to go over some stuff now."

He bended over and said in a serious tone,

" Imouto, you have to promise me that throughout the duration of this investigation, you will NOT leave my sight." Hotaru nodded obediently. "And if you do, I swear I'll make Professor Agasa take you straight home, and be that as it may be your first and last day going out with me on a case. I am brought to investigate the CEO Yamaguchi Tora's wife who is suspected to be on an affair. We are staying at this hotel because it is the nearest to his own mansion. He also invited us to have dinner with him at about 8:00 pm. I booked a room for both of us, and two beds. This is your luggage."

He thrusted a suitcase to Hotaru. Shinichi then pulled her hand to touch his own suitcase. "And this is mine."

There was a moment of silence before Hotaru spoke softly, "Will we have time to play here, Onii-San?"

He stopped and thought carefully before answering.

"Maybe...I'll be busy most of the time but...I guess we will see. If this case goes out fine, then I promise to spend our remaining time with you. How about that?"

He waited for some reply to his answer and was relieved to see that she was satisfied with it. Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, he held her hand and they both walked in the hotel.

/

Waiting as her brother sat on an armchair in their hotel room, and listened quietly to recordings from his earphones was not fun. She sat across from him and tried to busy herself by counting her toes and eating the lovely cakes that were abundant in the refrigerator.

There were not much books in the hotel to read and she forgot to bring her own. Finally she got off the chair and went beside her brother.

"Ne Onii-San, do you hear anything?" Shinichi merely sighed and grumbled "It is just strange for the CEO to place cameras in his own wife's bathroom."

"Maybe he really doesn't trust her." She suggested.

"Maybe he is a perverted old man." He retorted. Sighing heavily he took off the earphones. "Anyway, the wife is planning to have a three hour bath to get ready for today's dinner."

"Should I take a bath as well?" She wondered aloud, though she was mostly referring to herself.

"No, no, you can do that later. Come here." Shinichi opened his arms out for her and guided her to his lap. There they sat, with Shinichi's face in her hair breathing in her warm scent of cookies and cake, he held her tightly.

"Onii-San..is this case stressing you out?" Hotaru asked, concerned. He did not answer as he rubbed her back silently, then hands wandered to her hair, playing and pulling on her ringlets gently letting them fall back from his hands.

"Onii-San..?"

"I just can't find anything suspicious about this woman. I mean, the only thing I learned is that she still uses her maiden name Tano Yuki, and that she stays at home most of the time and she teaches blind students at an extremely well-off school during her free time. I'd say the husband is making himself more perverted by establishing cameras in his wife's bathroom." Shinichi managed to blurt out exhaustively.

"Onii-San, maybe you're tired. Let's go out for a walk. I think it is warm out today."

"A walk..? Alright I suppose." Hotaru bounced off his lap and swiftly placed on her black sandals. She then brushed her hair, placed a headband on top, smoothed out her white shirt and navy shorts, and lastly applied sunscreen (with assistance from an amused Shinichi).

Her brother only shrugged on an outer vest and combed it slightly.

"I'll have to bring my earphones with me, just in case." He murmured to himself. Looking up at her he asked "Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go, hurry." She pulled his hand and dragged him out the door. Shinichi smiled

at his younger sister's energy. He ran to catch up with her. The he saw someone coming out from the elevator.

"Wait for me Imouto, *abunai-!" he was too late, for Hotaru collided against an older man wearing a suit. She fell painfully on her behind and rubbed her head, still dizzy from the impact.

"My dear, are you alright?" She heard a voice that was not her brother's. It was from older man. She strained to find where he was.

"Imouto! *Daijoubun?! Are you injured?!" Shinichi hurried to his sisters side, helping her up. He quickly scanned for any abnormalities on her.

"Ah! You are Kudo-kun I presume?" The man asked. Shinichi looked up to see his client Yamaguchi Taro.

"Sir, ah forgive us, you see we were going out for a walk-" he stammered.

"-A walk? Ooh might I join you? You see I was just going to you for an update on you-know-what."

"Well, I don't see why not.."

"Oh Goody then! Just wait for me to put my bag away in my house. It is very heavy you know." Yamaguchi exclaimed.

"Yamaguchi-sama, where is your wife now?"

"Oh her? I managed to get her out of the house, she does to exercise you know. Tano is at the park currently."

And with that he jovially danced to his room.

"Onii-San, he seems to be very...happy doesn't he?" Hotaru whispered after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem too bothered by his wife's supposed affair either. Apparently this all seems like a game to him." Shinichi looked a bit irritated at the statement.

While on their way to the park, Yamaguchi explained how his relationship with his wife had been strained lately, and she was often leaving the house and coming home late at night with the scent of beer all over her.

"It does seem strange..." Shinichi pondered quietly, deep in thought.

"And is this your sister? My, is she a jewel. Just look at that fair complexion! That curly black hair! Those eyes! She does take after her older brother don't you agree mademoiselle?" This time he was talking directly to her.

Hotaru flustered and hid behind Shinichi. Yamaguchi did not seem to notice and continued his conversation recklessly. Just then, he stopped and shouted, "Tano? Tano is that you? Come here darling, and meet my uh..students, yes students!"

A plump red haired lady came over to them. Shinichi noted that she was not wearing her wedding ring. She had a grouchy look on her face, and looked as if she was sweating buckets.

"What the hell d'ya want. You wanted me to get my ass out of the house, and I did. Now what do you want me to do?"

"All I am asking dear, is for you to come and show you're respects to my students. Is that too hard for you too?" Yamaguchi calmly explained to his wife as the two siblings stood awkwardly listening to the conversation.

'So this is the person Onii-San has been stalking. Sounds legit' Hotaru felt sorry for her older brother at the moment.

"Feh, why should I do what you say? Or are you saying you want me to dump you here and now you mean." Yamaguchi stiffens at the sound of the words.

"Just do it for my students, please."

"Whatever you say." She lazily looked at both siblings before taking out a cigarette and lighting it. Smoking large puffs into their faces, she scanned them both until her face met with Hotaru's.

"I see, this one's knocked up. Tell me kid, you can't see nothin' can you?" She jeered at Hotaru.

"Well...how were you able to tell?" Hotaru coldly answered.

"Simple. I teach nobody's like you for my entertainment. And I know a blind when I see one. Teach 'em to be smart too. You good at school, kid?"

Shinichi angrily stepped in. "My sister is intelligent, maybe more than you are. And she is not a nobody. I would watch what my mouth would spill if I were you." He hissed icily.

Tano seemed taken aback. She snootily turned to her husband. "We taking them to dinner? I don' think so."

"I hosted them." He replied shamefully.

"Well, don' think I'll be there to welcome them. Watch out brat, I'm filthy rich. And if you wanna stay in ma home, you better be polite tuh me. Forget what my husband said. When you enter mah house, it's mah house. And I rule it. You takin notes kid? Or you just can see where yo paper is." She laughed at her own joke cruelly before walking away from them and back to the park's monkey bars.

"Tano, where are you going?"

"To my room, I plan to stay there until they leave."

Until Hotaru was sure that the ugly woman was gone, tears fell from her eyes.

"Am I...a Nobody?"

" Imouto, don't believe what she says. Your so special ..." Shinichi hurried to comfort his poor little girl.

"I suppose my wife spoke too much, forgive me." Shinichi resisted the urge to glare at him. He crouched down to meet her level.

" I hate being me, so blind and useless.."

"Don't say that..." Shinichi wiped the tiny crystals dripping down her cheek.

"Don't say what? Don't say how worthless I am? Because it is true you know. Nobody likes a blind girl because of how worthless she is..."

"Baka, you're not worthless at all. And I love you. Isn't that enough?"

"You only love me because we're related."

"The fact that we're related is only part of the whole reason why I love you. And besides, you shouldn't let her words get to you. I thought my Imouto was stronger than that." He lightly teased her in order to get her to smile, just for a moment.

"Well you thought wrong." She said back bitterly.

"Oh Hotaru, I can't believe you take what she said so personally..." He greatly pitied the child, who currently was mad at the world.

"Why the hell am I named *Hotaru? I can't even SEE fireflies. I'm glad I'm blind. Then I won't have to see how ugly I am..."

"Hotaru! Watch you're language." Shinichi warned.

"Watch my face. I wish somebody would tell me honestly what I looked like for once!" She snarled back.

"Oh, my wife would just think before she speaks..." Yamaguchi moaned.

"You're wife verbally injured my sister. I wouldn't say anything if I were you." He said through gritted teeth.

"Onii-San, tell me ,honestly, what do I look like?" She whispered. Her crying had died down and all she wanted right now was to curl up at home, under the covers, and never wake up.

"Well Imouto, you have black hair, just like I do." He twirled a ringlet for her to feel. "Except you inherited mother's curly hair."

"Go on." She whispered, her words barely audible.

"And you're pale, like her too."

"Is Onii-San pale too?"

"Not too much. Anyway you have a small face. With a really small nose." He tapped her nose to emphasize how small it was.

"And you got eyes like me."

"Blue eyes?"

"They look good on you." Hotaru bit her lip before hesitantly asking again.

"Onii-San, am I decent looking?"

"You're more than that. You're pretty, like mother. " Oka-San wouldn't hear this from him though.

"Mother?"

"She used to be an actress and a model." Shinichi explained. He waited for her reaction.

Hotaru nervously bit her finger.

"So I'm not ugly?"

"Not to me. And not to most people." He assured her. There was a short pause before she opened her mouth.

"If Onii-San thinks that I'm pretty, then.." He couldn't hear what she said after that. Hotaru wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face in it. Shinichi held her as he asked her once more,

"Then what?"

She mumbled in his chest, only this time he could hear her say,

"Then I'll be pretty, for Onii-San."

/

*abunai- danger or be careful

*hotaru- common name, means fireflies

*daijoubun- are you okay? Are you Injured?

*sumanai- sorry or forgive me

So, is Shinichi OOC? Please read and review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hotaru's first case part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or its characters. I only own Hotaru, my OC.

Time: 8:00 pm

"Well, here it is. Welcome to my humble abode." Yamaguchi guided them to the front gates.

'Oi oi, is he mocking us?' Shinichi thought as he stared at the oversized mansion.

'I wonder if they have candy..." Hotaru pondered. Her hand, entwined with Shinichi's, felt warm.

"Come on in Monsieurs." The line of maids nudged them gently to the 'humble abode'.

The Kudo siblings were introduced with a dining room filled with foie gras, caviar, blue cheese, spaghetti, escargot, and a la mode, fish and chips, fried rice, sashimi, sushi...

"Onii-San, it smells so good doesn't it?" Hotaru looked ready to pounce on the food.

"Yeah." If Shinichi was hungry, he did not show it. Instead his grip on her tightened.

"What time did we last ate, Onii-San?"

"..I forgot." Hotaru giggled at that. Shinichi gave her a semi-annoyed glance to which softened at the sight of her face.

They all sat in silence, eating whatever that was on their plate, with the occasional outbursts of Yamaguchi. Strangely he kept on glancing at the clock and while they were talking, he suddenly interupted saying that he needed to go to the bathroom. He came back and by 8:30 he blurted out again,

"It seems my wife is not down yet. How peculiar. She's usually all bluff when it comes to food."

There were no comments made by Hotaru. She didn't care either way.

'That fat woman's probably munching on chips right now in her room'

On the contrary, Shinichi seemed a bit worried. Grabbing his sister's hand he whispered

"We should go check up on her." Hotaru raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"You can go. I don't really care about her."

"If I am going, then you're coming with me. Did you forget about that?" Despite what he was saying Hotaru was more concerned about his warm breathe brushing over her reddening face.

"F-fine."

They tiptoed up the stairs, hand in hand, until Shinichi found Tano's room. The door was locked. He knocked at it, twice.

"Tano-sama, are you in there? You're husband wants to speak with you."

There was no answer.

"Onii-San, is she asleep?"

Something was wrong, and he could feel it. Knocking the door again, he noticed that it was severely damaged. The door seemed chipped and hallow. His suspicion rose again.

"Tano-sama is something wrong?"

"Why isn't she answering, Onii-San?" Hotaru was growing frantic.

"I don't know. Stay back Imouto." He pushed her behind him. Getting ready, he braced himself for what was to come next.

"What are you gonna do..?" Hotaru gave a surprise yelp as he ran and slammed the door down. A strong smell immediately hit her nose.

'Cyanide!'

"Onii-San, get out! There's cyanide-!"

"Go and get Yamaguchi, tell him to call the police!" Shinichi said while he covered his nose and mouth.

"W-what? Why? What about Tano-sama?"

"She's dead, now hurry up!" He tried to scan the body until he found blood red dots underneath the body along with a bloody arrow beneath it.

'Dying message!"

"Tano-sama is dead?! B-but..that's just.." He turned around to see Hotaru still standing there in shock.

"What are you doing?! Go and get Yamaguchi!"

"She seemed to have recovered slightly and ran down. Moments later Hotaru ran back up again, with a tearful Yamaguchi behind her.

"Did you phone them?" He demanded. Both nodded anxiously.

"Tano! Is my wife alright?" Shinichi solemnly shook his head.

"She was killed in this locked room...how was that possible?"

"She's DEAD?!"

"Yes, and for a long time too. The autopsy should provide an accurate number though."

Hotaru felt faint. Tano died a long time ago...and they didn't even NOTICE.

"Anyway, Hotaru, you should go an pack your luggage."

Pack her luggage? What did he mean by that?

"I don't understand.."

"This case had turned to murder. It's dangerous for you to even-"

"No! I want to stay here!" She found herself talking back.

"This is not a choice. I'm calling the Professor." He turned to reach for a nearby phone.

"Onii-San, I don't want to leave you! The police are going to have to interrogate me too, you know. So it is useless for me to go-" she tugged on his pants.

"What are they going to ask you anyway? You can't see anything!"

All was motionless and quiet. Hotaru suddenly turned cold at what he had just said and it made Shinichi regret it. A lot.

"What I was meant to say was, that I would have liked to stay with you throughout the duration of this...case. Is that so hard for you to agree?"

"Imouto..I didn't mean that.."

She ignored him and turned to the door. " I'll go and wait until the police arrives." Strutting past her brother and Yamaguchi, she bumped onto the wall accidentally. Angrily brushing herself off, she hurried to the other direction.

/

"Tano Yuki, age 34, married to Yamaguchi Tora, age 45, was found in her room dead. The cause of death is most likely cyanide poisoning in gaseous form. Time of death, between 5:30-6:00." Inspector Megure recited the report from the autopsy.

"There were dots and an arrow beneath the victim's body, which I'd say would be some sort of dying message." Shinichi added.

"Oh! Kudo-kun! What are you doing here!" The inspector turned around and waved at him.

"I was asked to privately investigate Yamaguchi's wife by Yamaguchi himself. During 5:30, Yamaguchi, myself, and Hotaru took a walk around Shinjuku where we met Tano Yuki for the first time there."

"Hotaru-chan? I've haven't seem her in years! Where is she anyways?" He looked around.

"I'm here, sir." A cool voice unlike one froma normal four year old would say. Looking down he saw a little girl walking over to him.

"Hotaru-chan! Do you remember me?" He held out his hand to her. She did not take it.

"Sir, do you remember that I am blind? I can't see your hand." Hotaru explained in a clipped voice. Suddenly he felt awkward and slowly placed his hand away.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry." He laughed nervously. "Uh..moving on, Kudo-kun, based on what you saw what can you deduce from this?

"There is a window that is tightly glued shut. It may have been closed postmortem. I don't think we're allowed in that room unless all the cyanide's been evaporated off, but I can say that the culprit must have used that window to his advantage. There are dots and an arrow below pointing from left to right..."

While Hotaru's brother spoke to the Inspector, she walked over to the body and gently touched the red dots. They were dry. Running her finger through it she pondered. Why did the culprit glue the windows? And most importantly, Why use cyanide in gas form, when he could use something less dangerous and timely? It didn't make sense. She ran her fingers idly through the dots.

'They feel like they can be used as Braille. I wonder if it works too. Let's see...T.Y English. Ah..that doesn't make sense, especially with the arrow under that. Hmmm...oh well...'

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She jumped when she heard Inspector Megure's booming voice. He looked like an ox ready for a rodeo. Smoke was coming out of his nose.

"Ah...Gomen I was going my fingers over the dying message..."

"WHICH WAS EVIDENCE!"

"I didn't have things to read in Braille sir, so I decided to read the dying message thingy.."

"Wait, what?" It was Shinichi's voice this time.

"..and it said 'T.Y English' and that didn't make a lot of sense ah..sumanai *Megure-Keibu."

"What did the dying message say Imouto?" Shinichi demanded, pushing past the inspector (who looked annoyed) and then grabbing her shoulders. She flinched at the sudden force. He softened his grasp but kept his voice firm. "What did it say?" He asked again.

"Ano..uh..'T.Y English'."

"That's all?"

"Hai, Onii-San." Suddenly it all became clear to him. 'T.Y English' had a deeper meaning. Tano-sama wasn't as stupid as he thought.

"Onii-San, um...my shoulders hurt a little.." He realized that he was squeezing her shoulders too hard. Shinichi dropped his hands to her waist and held her tightly in his arms.

"Thank you, Imouto, you've gave me a big clue to help solve this case." He whispered in her ear.

"Onii-San.."

"And I'm sorry about before, okay? Onii-San will make it up for you."

"It's okay. I'm not mad anymore." She pulled away slightly and reached up to kiss his cheek. It was the first from his sister. Sweet and shy rather than his mother's ones where they were always lipstick filled and slightly slobbery.

"Onii-San, I'm not mad anymore because I want to be happy when I hear your deduction show, in live." She smiled at him.

He smirked "alright, I'll give you a deduction show, after I find the evidence." Pecking her cheek, he ran to the only place to find the evidence: the bathroom.

/

"Kudo-kun, what is the meaning of this? Have you found out the person who killed my wife?" Yamaguchi asked huffily.

"Yes, Kudo-kun, tell us why do you need us to be here, outside of Tano's room?" Inspector Megure added.

"Just a minute sir, I need to find the right props." Called Shinichi from the bath room.

"Props? Why props Onii-San?" Hotaru asked.

"Props for this deduction show, ofcourse."

Shinichi finally came out, with a can of silicone, a mask often found in the dentist office, a large bag, a spay can, and a knife.

"Kudo-kun, why do you need those items?"

"First is the spray can. The culprit most likely used this can to put the cyanide in. In which case, this can will still contain traces of cyanide. The can will need to be placed in a large bag such as this one, to not cause the bottle to be disturbed in any way. Next the culprit sprayed the room with the cyanide. He sprayed just enough for the unfortunate person such as Tano-sama to die as soon as she inhaled enough of the smoke. Cyanide in gaseous form, also known as hydrogen cyanide is highly toxic and can be transmitted by inhalation. The amount used to kill would be around 277 ppm of cyanide to which can cause death within minutes. He would need to get the victim out of the house and back as -sama would leave the house by 5:30 and return home from that distance by 5:40. That way he can get an alibi, saying that the person died as soon as she went home and with us as the witnesses. His method of doing so would be to displease her in some way, leaving her to sulk in her room. She would mostly like realized that she was being poisoned until it was too late."

"But, what about the windows? She could've left them open?" Inspector Megure questioned. Yamaguchi stiffened.

"That brings me to this point, before the victim can home, the culprits had already siliconed or glued the windows shut. As seen here." He motioned to the glued windows. "And Tano-sama would have again, inhaled too much cynide to have the strength to open the windows anyway. But look here, the culprit made a mistake. He forgot to bring the bag, which contained traces of cyanide since it was in the room while he sprayed it. So he went back to the bathroom, which has a window latch above, to move to Tano-sama's bedroom veranda. Bringing a knife with him, he would stick the knife through the glued part of the window and cut the glue off. He would wear a mask to stop him from inhaling the cyanide and discard the bag. Lastly, he'll re-glue the windows and discard whatever he has left."

"So, who committed the murder?" The Inspector pressed on.

"There's only one truth behind all of this. And it all comes from the dying message!"

"What!" The Inspector cried as he and Yamaguchi glared down at the message.

"Tano-sama has taught in schools for the Blind. It is safe to say that she knows enough Braille to conduct this message.

Below says the words 'T.Y English' and an arrow underneath pointing from left to right. T.Y are the initials for Tora Yamaguchi!"

Yamaguchi glared at Shinichi. "I do not understand what you are saying! T.Y can also be the initials of my wife! It also works more like that too! My initials are Y.T Yamaguchi Tora! Hers is T.Y Tano Yuki! So there!"

"The fact that it is written T.Y further proves my point. She writes the word English next to it. And in English, the first name comes first! She even drew an arrow from left to right to not cause confusion. So by reading from left to right in English, T.Y is you, Tora Yamaguchi, the culprit!"

"My wife could be mention many others who happen to have the same initials as this. Show me concrete proof!" Shinichi stared in silence.

"What is this? You can't do it? Some detective you are.." He smiled smugly.

"Where is your black bag Yamaguchi?"

Yamaguchi stopped in his tracks.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Where is your black bag? The one you said that you were going to put away, before you were going on a walk with us?"

"I well...uh..." Hotaru listened in awe as her brother reduced the man to bits and pieces.

"Inspector Megure. We found the black bag that Yamaguchi-sama had in his posession. Inside are traces of cyanide and his fingerprints."

"Uh, good work men. Now Yamaguchi, what do you have to say about this?"

"..." Yamaguchi was surprisingly silent.

"Why don't we go to the station." The inspector motioned some officers to handcuff him. Yamaguchi however, backed away.

"It was..her fault." He confessed.

"What did you mean?" Shinichi asked cautiously.

" I call you in, to find out is she was having an affair. But.. Just moments after, I was sended pictures from the post, from an anonymous sender, pictures of my wife in an intercourse with one of my clients!"

Hotaru gave a small gasp and clung herself to Shinichi, who patted her head comfortingly.

"And that's not all! When I asked her about it, she admitted to them all! She even said that some were even more pleasuring than me! Me! Her husband! I had to get rid of her. And to make that worse, the company, the Yamaguchi corporation is getting bankrupt. We needed quick cash. Tano came from a family of aristocrats. Money was always there for her. So..I took her out of my life, out of my problems..."

Hotaru gripped tighter. And that's when Shinichi spoke up,

"What's the difference? In the end, she still plans to have the last word. She stopped you from succeeding and placed you lower than you already are. And Murder...Murder can't solve anything.."

Yamaguchi dipped his head sadly as the cop took him away.

/

"Well Kudo-kun! Just as expected of you to deduct this case as thorough as can be. Your father will be proud!"

Inspector Megure laughed, slapping poor Shinichi on the back.

"Uh, thank you Inspector." He said, straightening himself back up.

"And don't forget to take care of your sister!"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, Goodbye then!"

They watched as the Inspector drove away to the station in the patrol car. Shinichi turned around and smiled to Hotaru.

"We should be going too." He bended over and kissed her forehead softly.

"Ne ne, Onii-San."

"Hmm?" He mumbled.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"How do you concentrate on a case like it's just another body. Tano-sama was just here this afternoon...and then she was gone..."

Shinichi opened his eyes and looked solemnly at Hotaru for a moment. Turning away, he sighed.

"I suppose..I don't know. I try not to think about them personally, just until the case is finished."

"Does it get easier over time?" She nudged his head with the touch of his hand. He faced her again, and said,

"No, it doesn't. Each case has a different person, different setting, different experience..but you know what?"

"What?"

"People like you are so special..you remind me that there still some good people in this world." He picked her up and carried her back to the hotel.

"Onii-San."

"Yeah, what?"

"You remind me too."


	5. Chapter 5

Nightmares & The Dentist

Disclaimer : I do not own Detective Conan nor do I own it's characters. The only character I own is Hotaru

Fair warning: Shinichi may be OOC. Shinichi is 15. Hotaru is 4. This takes place during autumn. This is a one-shot.

What does Hotaru do when she has a nightmare? Read and find out!

Also R&R please.

_"Hee hee little girl. You can't run and hide forever! Now come out, come out wherever you are..."_

_ Hotaru quickly hid even further in her desk. She hoped and prayed that she would be found._

_There were crashing sounds...everywhere. Feet shuffling. Shouts._

_Breathing heavily, she wondered what was happening._

_Then the table cloth was lifted. A mad, deranged man in a lab coat appeared. She screamed._

_"Hee hee, now let me count your teeth..."_

"NOOOO!"

Hotaru woke up panting. She felt her hands touch sheets. Blankets. Her head was laying on something warm and fuzzy. Pillow.

Coughing slightly, she pushed herself up and sat on her bed.

"It was just a dream...right?" Scared to go back to bed, she shuffled onto the cold hardware floor.

'Oka-San and Otou-San..they must be asleep. I don't want to bother them..' She thought.

'If only I knew what time it is..'

Crawling on all fours, she climbed up the "Bumping into the wall is the last thing I need right now..." Mumbling to herself, she covering her head from whatever sharp objects there may lurk in the hallway.

Hotaru dragged herself to what she guess to be Onii-San's room. Pushing open the door, she heard someone gasp slightly.

"Imouto! W-why haven't you slept yet?!" Her brother's voice asked in a concerned voice. His hands went to her shoulders, resting there.

"Onii-San..Ne ne, do you know what time it is?" Hotaru rubbed her eyes, feeling sleepy.

"It's uh...wait." His warm hands left her sadly. She heard the slight creaking of a clock.

"It's 3:00 am. Look, you should go back to sleep." This time, she felt her cheek being caressed. Comforting fingers touch her face, gently like a butterfly.

"Ne Onii-San, why aren't you asleep too? I thought tomorrow is Sunday." Her voice slurred. She felt _tired. _

"I have a project to work on, so I'm starting it early. Imouto..what happened? You look so scared..." He was right on mark. She was scared to go back to her room. To dream about that dentist...but at the same time, she was exhausted and worn out.

"Onii-San, can I sleep with you tonight?" She asked tentatively.

"W-what?! Where did that come from?" Shinichi sputtered immediately, embarrassed.

"I had a nightmare...Onii-San please, don't make me go back..!" Hotaru pleaded.

"A nightmare? About what?" Shinichi demanded.

"It's nothing..please Onii-San!" Desperately she grabbed his hand.

"Okay, okay, relax befor your going to get me scared too." Shinichi smirked slightly curled his hand around her own. Gathering his books, he placed them quickly in his backpack. Turning his attention back to the little girl, he guided her to his bed. Hotaru quickly climbed in the warm covers.

There they both rested in silent darkness, until Shinichi brought back the topic again. Turing to face her, he asked "Imouto, what was your nightmare about anyway?"

"Nothing, Onii-San." She shot back.

"Come on, you can tell me. Was it about that boy you told me that you had a crush on? Did he finally reject you in your dream?" He teased.

"N-no!" She blushed, secretly praying that he wouldn't see in the dark.

"And you're only four years old too...Kids must grow fast these days.." He continued, smirking at her reddened face.

"That's not it Onii-San!" Hotaru blurted out.

"Then what is it?" He pressed on.

"..."

"What? I can't hear you",Shinichi leaned closer.

"Den...", she whispered again.

"Den-what?"

"Dentist Onii-San, it was about the dentist!" She spoke loudly. Staring at her for a moment, he suddenly bursted out laughing.

"The dentist? What is so scary about the dentist?" He chuckled.

"Onii-San, please don't laugh! My classmate told me that the dentist is a really scary person! She said that he yanks people's teach out without mercy, and that he uses knives to stretch the paitient's mouths-" she rambled on before Shinichi interrupted.

"-the only thing you need to be scared about are cavities, since you just love to enhance your sweet tooth without brushing your teeth long enough. Besides, dentists aren't like what she says. There just people who specialize in fixing the teeth. And they wouldn't go around carrying knives!" He laughed again. "And here I thought it was something really worth coming up to me about. Jeez Imouto, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"So..there not scary at all?" Hotaru asked hesitantly.

"No no, ofcourse not. Come to think about it, your first appointment is tomorrow right?"

She grumbled at the statement. Shinichi took that as a yes and continued,

"I'll go with you then, so that you won't be so anxious."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so don't be scared alright? I promise I'll be with you forever." Leaning in, he kissed her forehead.

"Onii-San, thank you." She whispered.

"Yeah I know. Now go to sleep will you? Otherwise you'll never wake up."

She nodded, feeling more relieved than she had been hours ago. Hotaru snuggled in his warm, strong, chest. He placed an arm over her, protectively pulling her closer.

"Onii-San?"

"Yeah, what is it?" He yawned again.

"Good night." She kissed his cheek. He smiled a bit before answering

"Good night, Imouto"

/

For those who don't know, I did my research. Blind people can dream. They can see when the dream too.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry for not posting a lot these days. I blame all the schoolwork and tests.

Anyway here it is. This is the first and probably only time will I purposely use spelling mistakes. Please read and review.

Brother-sitting love

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan nor do I own it's characters. I only own Hotaru, my OC

Fair Warning: Hotaru is currently four years old. Shinichi is 15 years old. Shinichi may seem OOC. Also, if some lines are hard to read visually, try reading it out loud. It'll help a bit.

/

"Ah-choo!"

"Ne Onii-San, don't you think it's better for you to go to the doctor? You look a bit unwell." Hotaru worried as she patted her Onii-san's head with a towel.

Shinichi roughly coughed again before shaking his head. He answered in a nasally voice.

"I'll be fine Im'bouto, really. It's zjust zuh foo." He achingly sat up and patted Hotaru's head.

"Huh?"

"Zuh, flu. I meantz zuh flu." He sneezed and Hotaru quickly dabbed his nose with a napkin.

"Onii-San..oh I wish you'll get better soon! Our class is doing a play tomorrow, remember? And I'm playing the lead as Cinderella! You will come to see it will you? Please!" begged placing a hand on his.

Shinichi smiled and leaned back on the bed. Hotaru sat on the chair beside him, anxiously waiting for his answer. He pondered a bit, and tiredly twirled her hair, playing with it.

'_That's right..her play..totally forgot about it..and It would have been easier to chose if my head isn't feeling like its split. Ah..I feel so tired..but I guess I have to go anyways..'_

"Alright." He winced slightly as he heard his little sister cheered. Oh his head is really falling apart.

A small, delicate hand touched his cheek.

"Ne, Onii-San, Imouto is going to take care of you today! So don't worry, I'll try my best!"

Shinichi turned to face her with an edgy look on his face.

'_Oi oi, wasn't it her who was the worried one?_'

Still, he was touched by her words. Giving her a gentle kiss on her hand, the hand that lovingly poked his cheek.

"Youse alzready are my beszt. Don't stresz yourself-" He coughed again, quickly turning away from her.

It was going to be a long day.

/

"Onii-San..please drink it, I know your throat hurts and such but my doctor says it's still required for you to drink lots of fluids." She pushed the cup in his face.

Shinichi stubbornly turned away. His throat was swelling overwhelmingly and he could hardly imagine how swallowing the bitter medicine would feel like. At least his nose wasn't flooded with snot anymore like it was.

"There is no way in hell is that thing going in my mouth." Apparently, being sick made him extra-grouchy and difficult to handle.

However, little Hotaru is (unfortunately) just as stubborn as he, and was always used to getting her way in everything.

"Drink it, it's medicine."

"I can see that. Now, get that thing away from me."

"The doctor says you should drink it in order to heal your throat."

"Tell the doctor that if she wanted some sick patient to take a sip on that, she should first do something about the taste."

"The doctor says-"

"I don't give a _damn_ about what the doctor says!"

"Onii-San!"

"Just leave me alone!" He found himself raising his voice in a level that was not appropriate for his sister to hear. Taking a deep breathe, coughed painfully (due to his throat), sneezed, and finally spoke.

"Why don't you do something..else. Despite common belief, I can actually take care of myself, pretty good at it too." Shinichi looked at his sister's hurt face before it almost instinctively turned into a weak smile.

"Yes, I guess I'll do something...else. Call me if you need anything, please." She groped for space on the desk and placed the cup there. Turning to leave the room, he heard a loud thump outside along with some words that should not be written down. Sighing loudly he fell back on the numerous pillows surrounding him which had certainly not been there a few moments before.

'_I just scared her away_.' Shinichi turned to see the cup of dark liquid, which is supposedly the medicine, lie on the table. He reached for the cup and peered down at the swirling potion.

'_We had an argument, all for this_?'

Tilting his head, he swallowed the contents of the cup and nearly, spat the whole thing out of his mouth.

Forcing himself to indulge the liquid he sighed again. And threw up.

/

"I'm told you it was bad."

"When you said bad, I never really thought it was that bad Onii-San." Hotaru replied wiping his face with the towel, repeatedly missing the gunk on the side of his face.

"Did you checked the expiration date?" He maneuvered her hands to the proper spot.

"I can't see it." She mumbled dabbing his nose with cool refreshing water.

"Oh. Right. I uh forgot." Shinichi tried to move away from the sensitive topic. Hotaru did not seem to notice. She continued.

"I think you told me some weeks ago that we still have a good seven months." She proceeded to take the now dirty mop and stalked to the bathroom, dunking it in a cold pail. After pouring gallons of water in it, Hotaru returned to her brother who sat on the bed looking a bit red. Shinichi coughed.

"Ano..Imouto.." He began.

"Hmm..?" She soon went back to washing his face and neck.

"I uh.. I'm sorr-"

Then, Shinichi caught something he didn't see before on her hand. A bandage, and it was a bit bloody.

"What is that?" He asked, touching her hand gently. Hotaru pulled it back, flushing a bit.

"It's nothing Onii-San."

"It's bleeding." He pointed out. Shinichi pulled her hand closer. It was as if all his head pains were gone, and his attention was focused on his little girl.

"Was that after our argument?" Shinichi wondered to himself.

"Yes, I burned it on the stove." Hotaru mumbled quietly. Shinichi's head snapped up.

"The stove?! What the hell were you doing on the stove?!" His grip tightened.

" I thought I was capable of baking cookies...I got them from a mix in the supermarket...didn't work though..." Hotaru's voice got quieter and quieter.

"Your damn right it didn't work. That, Imouto, was a stupid move. What were you thinking? You could've gotten seriously hurt." He scolded her, harshly.

Hotaru, for once did not have an answer. Shinichi sighed. His headache was coming back, this time it was almost pounding his ears.

"Come on, I have to get YOU cleaned up this time." He trudged to the bathroom, briskly gripping her hand, dragging her behind him.

After properly re-bandaging her wound, 10 minutes of chastising her again, they both ended up back in his bedroom. Shinichi who was tiredly in his bed, while his sister, (who was close to tears) sat quietly next to him.

It was already a long day and his difficult and cranky actions were definitely not helping at all. Shinichi stared at the blankets that covered him. His throat tickled and again he coughed. Hotaru's head flipped up and she ran to his side.

"It's okay, really." He assured her. Strangely, she ignored his words and crawled onto the bed next to him.

"Imouto, what are you doing?!" He scooted away to make room.

"Onii-San, can I sleep with you?" She asked.

"You always ask the strangest questions in the most random moments. And no, you can't because if you remember, I have the flu." Shinichi tried to push the child away.

Again, he was ignored. Breathing heavily, he reluctantly pulled the covers around her.

'_Why ask if you're just going to ignore my answer?'_

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Shinichi looked at her strangely. "Why are you sorry?"

"I thought I could take care of Onii-san." She answered softly. "I was wrong though. In the end, you were the one taking care of me."

Shinichi was silent and suspected that she was not done yet.

"Everything that I did..always turn out wrong. I wanted Onii-San to feel better so...I made happy cookies..but then.." Small tears fell from her eyes. She quickly brushed them away.

"You not happy."

Shinichi pulled her closer to him. Planting kisses on her hair, the dam bursted.

"I c-cant d-do a-anything! I can't do anything for Onii-San!" She wailed. He shushed her gently, wrapping his arms around her body. After a moment, she whimpered again.

"Onii-San..?"

"Yes, Imouto?"

"..I'm not a good Imouto am I?" There was silence. Shinichi recalled hearing those same words before, except that they came from him. Hotaru...

"Ofcourse not. You never were." Hotaru cringed, hearing those words. But Shinichi wasn't finished. He continued.

"Your my best. My Imouto." Hotaru was surprised to hear, and before she could register what was happening next, Shinichi's lips flew down to her cheeks. He kissed her, again and again. Perhaps it was because he was happy, happy to hear his Imouto love him. Or maybe it was his head. He was not in the best mood today. But now, it had gotten better. Much better.

"Don't say that you don't deserve me. It might be the other way around if you actually see it." He whispered in her ear.

"But Onii-San, I'm saying that I love you."


	7. Chapter 7

Hello, I'm back with another chapter. Fair warning like always, Shinichi may be OOC to your eyes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective conan or do I own it's characters. I only own Hotaru, my OC.

Hotaru's birthday

It was a special day for Hotaru.

But for her older brother, it is one of the most stressful times of the year. Finding the perfect present for Hotaru was not an easy task, and he reigned as best for three years in a row, if that is, you do not count his father. Shinichi did not want to back down and ruin his perfect streak.

During school he wondered what shall he give to the little girl, who was always a bit _too_

hard to please. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when the teacher called on him.

"Kudo-kun, hurry and answer the question!" The teacher barked.

"Huh?"

"I said, answer the question!"

"What was the question?" The teacher sighed and turned to Ran, who answered,

"74, Sensei."

"Correct. And you Kudo-kun, pay more attention!" She sneered at him.

"Haiii." Shinichi grumbled.

At lunch, Ran came up to him. "What has gotten into you? I never seen you space out as much as you did today." And it was true, after the morning scolding he received, he also was painfully yelled at by three other teachers, again with the 'lack of participation.'

"It's nothing." He looked away. Ran looked slightly suspicious, then wondered out loud to herself.

"Come to think of it, isnt today Hotaru-chan's birthday?" Ahh..jackpot.

"Yes." He answered.

"Oh! What are you going to give her? I promise, I'll keep it a secret!" She smiled at him.

"Well, what are you getting her?" He avoided the question.

"I'm getting Hotaru-chan a cute bracelet. You know, it's really fun to dress her up. It's shocking to see how much she looks like a doll. Anyway, tell me what is your's."

"I haven't gotten anything yet." He confessed. Ran suddenly understood.

"Is that why you were so..distant in class? I don't think you should put so much pressure into thinking about it. Hotaru-chan would already fall in love with anything you give her." She advised.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're her brother, she wouldn't-or she shouldn't give much thought to what present you might give her. You are important to her, so whatever you give her shouldn't matter as much."

Shinichi gave thought to her answer. Hotaru wouldn't care..because she already loves him? That is...a bit confusing. Or that Hotaru wouldn't get picky over his presents..because she already has him?

'Oi oi, that makes me should like I'm a gift-wrapped thing, rather than just her brother. And besides, I doubt that Hotaru would think in such a complex manner. It is, after all, her birthday.'

"I still want to get something, I have competition you know."

"With your Father?" Ran looked doubtful.

"My reputation is at stake." He replied bluntly. Ran sighed (a lot of people sighed at him today) and shook her head.

"Well, there is a sale of Sherlock Holmes audiobooks down at that bookshop. You can give that to her." Yes! Now he won't have to spend hours late at night retelling her stories that he already knew by heart. And since it is an audio recording , she could listen to it as much as she wanted. Yes, this would be a good gift for Hotaru.

"Really?"

"There's a long line though.." Ran trailed off and saw that Shinichi had already left.

"That idiot. He's going to regret standing outside today. Especially in this storm."

/

Five hours.

Five long hours.

Five freaking long hours.

He really did not expect standing outside for five long freaking hours. In the rain too.

'Oi, so a lot of people are after this audiobook. I wonder what's so special about it.'

He sneezed. It was freezing outside and he had no umbrella. Struggling to stand, he tapped the person in front of him.

"Oujo-San, tell me, what is so special about the audiobook again?" The lady in front of him coughed before answering.

"I see you have an interest in the Sherlock Holmes series..." Shinichi nodded waiting for her to continue. She was a middle-aged woman, with grey hair and round spectacles.

"Well you see, these are the only audiobooks that are based accurately on all the characters..and in English as well.." Hearing this only made Shinichi more determined to get the audiobook. Unlike him and the rest of his family, Hotaru spoke perfect English and her japanese is..well...not so perfect. It wasn't that she didnt know her vocabulary, or understand what others are saying, it was just that she has a slight accent. Slight. Well, not that slight..maybe a little more noticeable..ah, forget it, she has a harsh annotation. Nobody really knew where she got it from, after all nobody was English in their family. But, she has one. The audiobook would do well on her. She will feel better about herself. And like it runs in the family, love for Sherlock Holmes know no bounds.

'I'm getting the best present for you Imouto..just you wait..'

Another hour had passed. Six hours, and there is finally progress in the line.

Shinichi was so anxious, and when he finally reached the counter, he nearly slammed his wallet down.

"How much? How much for the audiobook?" He demanded.

"I'm sorry sir, it seems that we are all out." The clerk apologized, though he didn't sound as sorry as he looked. Walking passed a stunned Shinichi, he called out to the remaining line.

"That's it folks, we're all out." A loud groan came from the crowd. Shinichi turned and grabbed the clerk.

"Your all out? That-that's not possible." The clerk shook his head.

"I'm sorry, we are really all out." The clerk replied, irritated. But Shinichi was not finished. Clutching at the clerk's shoulder, Shinichi persisted.

"What about that woman before me? Where did she go?"

"Look, I really don't know. She just went out, if your lucky, you might catch up with

her." The clerk snapped at him. Stalking away, Shinichi heard him mumble something under his breathe, that sounded suspiciously like 'freak'.

Wasting no time, Shinichi checked his watch. The rain was still beating down. It was 9:00, sharp. He was drenched from head to toe, and to make it worse, his parents seemed to have called him at least 10 times. The party however, starts at 10:00. One hour left. One hour left to make it all right again.

Quickly he ran out of the bookshop, racing to where, he hoped that lady went, with the last audiobook.

With hope brimming in his heart, he caught sight of her. Swiftly dragging his legs, and pushing his way through the rain, he took her shoulder.

"What are you doing?!"

"Oujo-San, please lend me the audiobook. The shop was sold out after you. I need it, for someone." He pleaded. The woman's eyes narrowed and pushed away from him, hard. He fell on the ground with a thud. Looking up in surprise, he saw her smirk at him.

"Sorry boy, I can't do that for you. If people like you can't afford to get even this, then they are nothing more then useless space of the world. This audiobook, I finally..finally have it. It's mine now...finally." She crooned, patting the bag in her hands. Looking back at him, she turned and huffed away, leaving Shinichi in daze.

Shinichi got up and trudged his way through the town. He felt dizzy and weak. The rain was really starting to affect him.

'Perhaps I'll find flowers for her..at least that way I got her something..'

The flower shop was closed.

'Useless space in the world? Sounds a lot like someone.' He thought miserably. It was dark, and thunder was raging on and on.

Somehow, he found his way into the house. When he opened the door, he felts arms immediately go around him. It was mother.

"Shin-chan! What on earth were you doing outside! We called you but you wouldn't pick up! Oh and your clothes are so wet! You're going to catch a cold-!"

"I'll be fine, Kaa-San, where's Imouto?"

"Upstairs, Ran-chan and everyone else left before you..." Shinchi coughed.

"And you have a cold too.."

"I told you, I'll be fine..I wonder what time is it?" Yukiko help take off his uniform, and glanced at the clock.

"11:00, Hotaru should be asleep now."

"Can I wake her up? I need to tell her something." Yukiko guided him towards her room.

"Ofcourse.."

Shinichi walked in the pretty room that was adorned with cute bunnies, images, things that she couldn't see. His father was sitting at the edge of Hotaru's bed, they were talking to each other, excitedly.

"Hello, Hotaru." They looked up. When both Yusaku and Shinichi's eyes met, Yusaku knew what went wrong. Yusaku stood and gave Hotaru a kiss on her temple.

"Goodnight, Hotaru. You hear that? Onii-San is here and safe, like I told you."

"Onii-San.." Hotaru called out. She crawled out of her bed. Yusaku found it necessary to carry her into her arms, handed her over to his son.

Walking past him, he whispered, "Next time, do call us. You gave us quite a scare."

"Sorry, father. I was busy."

"Even so, you nearly gave Hotaru and your mother a heart attack. I think there is no need for me to tell you that you ought to make it up to them, am I correct?"

"Yes," Yusaku smiled approvingly. "However, what am I going to do with mother?" Shinichi asked, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, don't worry, I got her under control. You can take care of Hotaru." He chuckled, patting his shoulder. Shinichi managed a weak smile back before it faded as he watched his father leave the room, to go and comfort his mother.

"Onii-San.." Shinchi heard a sleepy voice. Looking down, he whispered.

"Hey, Miss Five, how's your birthday? Was it fun?"

"It was boring."

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't there." By this time, she was nearly fully awake. Shinichi gulped.

"I'm uh, sorry. I had to get your gift." Here goes nothing..

"A gift? Ran gave me bracelets, Professor gave me a new version of his own walkie talkie, Okaa-San gave me Macbeth...oh Onii-San can you read it to me sometimes? And Otou-San gave me his complete night baron series." To each present Shinichi heard, especially the last one, he grew increasingly jealous. Hotaru gave him a simply adorable smile.

"You know, Onii-San, Imouto was really worried about you. Ne. Imouto thought, 'Onii-San might get hurt. Okaa-San said it was raining today.' And now Onii-san's here..but he's so late.." Shinichi sat down on her bed with Hotaru in his arms. In a way, he secretly loved being baby-talked by his sister, it was something she was incredibly good at.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. At least it's not raining now. You're still a bit wet."

"I'm also sorry.."

"For what, Onii-San?" Hotaru said, playfully poking his cheek.

"I..I don't have a gift for you. The bookshop, you see, had this offer in selling audiobooks-"

"That's okay." Hotaru interrupted.

"Huh?"

"I said, that's alright. " she absentmindingly played with a lock of her brother's hair. It was soft, and straight. But now, it's a bit wet.

"What do you mean?" Shinichi asked puzzled.

"I don't mind if you didn't have a gift prepared for me. You're here, safe. I think that's enough for me." Hotaru lazily snuggled into his chest.

"Oh, really.." So this is what Ran meant earlier.

"You'll simply have to make it up for me, Onii-San." Shinichi almost collapsed to the floor. Perhaps not...

"What do you want me to do then?" Hotaru shrugged. Then, tugging his sleeve, she crawled back to her bed.

"Onii-San, it's hard for me to sleep. Will you tell me a story?"

"Uh..sure. What do you want to hear?" He asked while tucking Hotaru in.

"Anything. I don't mind." Shinichi pondered a bit.

"There was a boy. He had a younger sister."

"Like us?" Hotaru had an interested look in her eyes.

"Yes, just like us." Shinichi smiled.

"Was she blind?"

"The sister? Not to her brother's eyes,"

"...Go on."

"See, today was the boy's sister's birthday. So the boy wanted her to have the best present, out of all of the presents she had."

"What was the present?"

"It was..an audiobook."

"That's nice of the brother. That way, reading wont be such an inconvience."

"Really? Because now that I think about it, giving her an audiobook sounds like an insult."

"How so?"

"It's a sign. A sign that says that she's incompetent. That she couldn't even read."

"Obviously she couldn't read. She's blind."

"You may be blind, but between the two of us, you see more than I do, in so many ways."

Hotaru turned away. "I don't like the story."

"I never said you'll like this one."

"It's not realistic."

"If all stories were realistic, Imouto, then they'll all be boring." Shinichi answered calmly. Gently pulling her closer to him, Shinichi kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Imouto, and happy birthday." Shinichi was about to leave the room when he heard Hotaru speak again.

"Onii-San. Do mistakes happen?"

"They are made, yes."he answered honestly.

"You never make mistakes."

"I'm human. And so are you. Mistakes are made."

"Am I a mistake?"

"Nobody was born a mistake." There was a quiet and awkward pause.

"Onii-San."

"Y-yes?"

"Come and stay with me. At least, until I'll fall asleep." He walked over to her bedside.

"I'll stay with you for as long as you want."

"...ne Onii-San? What happen to the girl? Was she happy?"

"She was."

"Then, I suppose..," she turned to face him. Slowly giving him a soft smile, she continued. "I'll be happy as well..right?"

"I suppose so." He slipped under the covers with her. They slept. Happily.

/

For Japanese people, it is considered not only respectful to refer to oneself in third person but cute as well.

Please read and review.


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